Gaming machines that provide players awards in primary or base games are well known. Gaming machines generally require the player to place or make a wager to activate the primary or base game. In many of these gaming machines, the award is based on the player obtaining a winning symbol or symbol combination and on the amount of the wager (i.e., the higher the wager, the higher the award). Winning symbols or symbol combinations are typically displayed to the player by a paytable. The paytable determines an average expected return for the primary or base game. The paytable usually provides: (i) lower awards for symbols or symbol combinations, which are more likely to occur in the primary game, and (ii) higher awards for symbols or symbol combinations less likely to occur in the primary game.
Secondary or bonus games are also known in gaming machines. These secondary or bonus games usually provide an additional award to the player. Such bonus awards are accounted for when determining the overall paytable for the gaming machine. Secondary or bonus games usually do not require an additional wager by the player to be activated. Secondary or bonus games are often activated or triggered upon an occurrence of a designated triggering symbol or triggering symbol combination in the primary or base game of the gaming machine. For instance, a bonus symbol occurring on a payline on the third reel of a three reel slot machine triggers the secondary bonus game on that gaming device. Part of the enjoyment and excitement of playing certain gaming machines is the occurrence or triggering of the secondary or bonus game (even before the player knows how much the bonus award will be). In other words, obtaining a bonus event and a bonus award in the bonus event is part of the enjoyment and excitement for players.
Most gaming machines are set to pay back on average a certain percentage of the amount of money wagered by players. The average percentage of money wagered that is paid back to the player is sometimes called the average return, the average expected payback or the average expected payback percentage. The average payback provided by a game is determined by the paytable of that game. For a slot game, a paytable determines which awards will be provided to a player if certain winning symbols or winning symbol combinations appear on an activated or wagered on payline.
Similarly, most gaming machines are set to hold on average a certain percentage of the amount of money wagered by players. The average percentage of money wagered that is held by the gaming device is sometimes called the average expected hold or the average expected hold percentage. The average expected hold percentage and the average expected payback percentage constitute on average 100% of the money wagered on the gaming machine. Gaming machines with a higher average expected payback have a lower average expected hold and vice versa.
Most games played at existing gaming machines have paytables which include predetermined winning symbol combinations or events. As a result, such games also have paytables with predetermined average expected paybacks. In such existing gaming machines, the amount of the wager made on the primary or secondary games by the player may vary while the average expected payback (or the average expected hold) for such primary or secondary games remains constant. Accordingly, gaming establishments are in need of new and exciting ways to provide variable average expected returns and average expected holds (i.e., better paybacks and less holds) to players as part of their gaming experience.
Player tracking systems are also known. Player tracking systems enable gaming establishments to recognize the value of customer loyalty through identifying frequent customers and rewarding them for their patronage. The cumulative history of a particular player's gaming activity, which is included in a player profile, enables gaming establishments to target individual players with direct marketing promotions or customized compensation plans. In existing player tracking systems, a player is issued a player identification card which has an encoded player identification number that uniquely identifies the player. Player tracking on gaming devices such as slot machines, is typically accomplished with a card reader mounted to the gaming device. When the player first sits down at a gaming device, the player inserts the card into the card reader. The card reader reads the player identification number off the player tracking card and communicates information through a network to a central computer regarding the player's subsequent gaming activity. Based on this communicated information or data, the gaming establishment classifies each player and provides one or more of such players certain benefits based on these classifications and amounts wagered by the player.
Gaming establishment or casino loyalty programs are also well known. A casino loyalty programs works in conjunction with a player tracking system to offer incentives to players in exchange for the player's loyalty to and play history at the gaming establishment. Such loyalty incentives are often provided and funded by the gaming establishment's marketing department. These marketing department promotions are not accounted for in determining the overall paytable for the gaming machines.
One known way to provide loyalty incentives to players is by offering promotional credits (delivered as either direct mail offers or as a result of a loyalty bonus) to be utilized in one or more wagering games. Such promotional credits are often offered as a one-time event such as for a player signing up for a player tracking card. These promotions represent a cost to the gaming establishment. However, such promotions or the benefits thereof are often not easily noticed by players because such promotions usually run for a short time period. That is, very few players notice the promotional credits unless the casino or gaming establishment notifies or informs these players in an extra manner. Thus, even though the casino or gaming establishment pays for the promotion, the casino or gaming establishment often does not realize all of the benefits from such promotions. Accordingly, gaming establishments are in need of new and exciting ways to provide awards to loyal players as part of their gaming experience.
More specifically, there is a continuing need to provide a gaming establishment with options for more types of frequent player or loyalty incentives. Such loyalty offerings should: be adjustable in amount and triggering frequency to meet the level of the player's loyalty (i.e., frequent or loyal players deserve more frequent or larger awards); and be viewed as a loyalty offering provided by the gaming establishment and/or the gaming machine manufacturer. Additionally, if possible, such loyalty offerings should: be viewed as being more valuable or enticing than promotional credits; and provide a mechanism or way for the gaming establishment and/or the gaming machine manufacturer to know and control costs associated with awarding such loyalty offerings.
Accordingly, there is a continuing need to provide new and different gaming machines and gaming systems as well as new and different ways to vary the expected payback of designated loyalty offerings to certain players.